Made from top quality Swedish steel, but weighing in at only 2,050 lbs., the Volvo PV544 proved almost indestructible and enjoyed a successful carreer in motorsports. In 1965, Joginder Singh achieved an overall win of the gruelsome Safari Rally, using a second hand car from 1963. Other PV544 models were road raced successfully in SCCA as a "B Sedans" (B/S), often many years beyond 1965, when after 18 years the cars' production ended.
Labor of Love:
1962 Volvo PV544 Sport
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Nineteen sixty-two was a special year for the PV544 as it was the first year the car received 12-volt electrics and the much improved 1.8-liter B18 engine from the P1800S "Saint" sports car. In Sport trim, twin SU carburetors provided 90 horsepower, exactly the same as a contemporary Porsche 356 Super 90 was blessed with. Equipped with a super low, yet stock 4.56 rear end ratio, the Volvo would give the Porsche a run for the money at the stoplight!
I owned the car featured here for almost 12 years, bought it on Independence Day in 2008. It has been a labor of love for me, and as a long-time companion, part of my life. I thought I would never sell it, but due to unexpected circumstances I have to streamline my life and get rid of the majority of my toys.
VIN *356287* is a 1962 model. Its color combination of black (code 19) over red (38-195) is correct.
The car was originally sold in Fayetteville, NC., a few years later found its way to California. A bumper sticker places it at the Department of Navy in San Diego in the late 1960s. From the 1970s on, it lived in Idyllwild, a beautiful mountain community near Palm Springs. It's the very car that Nate Lowman, a now wildly famous NYC artist/celebrity and former boyfriend of Mary Kate Olsen, learned to drive on when he was 16 years young.
The California black plate starting with the letter V dates to around 1968. So it has been in California for at least 52 years. The car comes with a clean California title in my name. Registration is current and paid for 'til September of 2020.
I have kept every receipt pertaining to the car's history in a 4-inch thick folder.
There are 147 chronologically ordered invoices, dating back to 1989. I personally have invested $18,632.76 -- not counting the car's purchase. Also not counted are the literally hundreds of hours of my own labor, worth many thousands of dollars.
Years' worth of Volvo magazines are included.
Also included are all of the framed, original advertising I collected over the years.
Major engine-out service last August at vintage Volvo specialist Hi-Performance in Torrance: I paid $2,620.83 to have Erik go through "everything."
Clean engine compartment contains a super-healthy B18 engine, coupled to an M40 4-speed manual transmission.
I did a conversion from generator to alternator in 2013. Optima Red Top battery is near new.
Pure unobtainium: removable engine compartment light with clear Volvo PV544 turn signal lens!
Fully rebuilt engine with .40-over pistons in 2010. It now has about 30K miles on it.
No more bakelite: full O.E.M. Volvo B30 (6-cylinder) steel gear drive, as used by Volvo Racing, eliminating the B18/B20 engine's Achilles' heel. It was installed in July of 2018.
Freshly resealed: this engine doesn't need diapers.
My car is my castle. Bullet-proof Volvo body, a design of the 1940s.
Jimmy Carter for President sticker, CHP inspection sticker, Porsche Red Tip antenna.
Factory paint is burned off on horizontal surfaces, leaving a beautiful patina that money can't buy.
MoPar wheels are 5.5 x 15 on all 4 corners. Vredestein Classic tires are 165-15 in front and 185/70-15 out back. Small dog dish hubcaps are from a 1960s Chrysler.
Still dressed in largely factory-original paint, the finish has become thin. There are dings, dents, scratches, and other imperfections. It's the equivalent to a well worn baseball glove.
New headliner and windlacing in 2011.
New carpet kit in August of 2016, always protected by Cocomats which are included in the sale.
New gauge cluster in September of 2013.
Original Volvo -- by Blaupunkt -- AM/FM radio. Try to find another one!
Flawless seats. Seating surfaces are genuine leather, everything else is vinyl.
Rear seats have been used less than a handful of times.
Lives on the back shelf: Service Kit for the Small Car Owner.
Front seats, rear seats, all panels, were redone in October of 2009.
German Wuerth sound proofing.
All of the lights work as they should.
Large trunk.
Genuine Volvo rubber trunk mat.
Genuine Volvo gas can for the spare wheel well.
Refreshened rear end with 4.10 gear ratio. It allows relaxed freeway driving at 70 to 75mph.
Fully rebuilt suspension, including ipd sway bars front and rear.
Back in 2008, I wire-brushed the entire undercarriage to nearly bare metal, then primered it, then painted it in semi-gloss black.
Later, I embedded it in clear grease, something we did in Sweden. There's no better way to keep corrosion away, although this is not an issue here in California.
Clean!
Only rust on this car: the bottom of the spare wheel well. I never got around repairing this.
The car starts, runs, and drives great. I've been driving it as a semi-daily driver and it is solid as a rock.
This car has character, in the same way Inspector Colombo's Peugeot did. It receives compliments whereever it is and has been featured on several online publications throughout the years.
I replaced the dash top in 2011 with a good used one. This too now has developed multipe heat cracks, curtesy of the California sun.
The only gauge not working right now is the temperature gauge, due to a kinked line. A new gauge is readily available for $175. A conversion to electrical is even cheaper.
There are many parts that can go with the car, free of charge, if so desired, among them a good, complete rear bumper, a left rear fender, and boxes of new and used parts that I collected throughout the years.
This car is unique. It's not a perfect car for everybody, but it's the perfect car for somebody.
Walkaround, 4:29 minutes.
Driving, 5:31 minutes.